News:
May 2, 2017
A Member of Parliament for Afigya Kwabre North Hon Nana Marfo Amaniampong who is also a leading Member of Public Accounts Committee have ask the media to do follow ups and report on gains made by the committee especially when public funds are recovered from public institution and avoid the usual sensationalism.
He further pointed out that, what can happen to “you and you will regret is not having your facts right, we are luck our side of the world you can get away with some of this things, in the advance Countries you cannot injure someone’s reputation the next day you go an tell your village chief I did not do it right please forgive me”.
His comment comes in the wake of some media reportage carried by Daily Graphic and some radio stations not reflecting what transpired at the committee sittings. When the media was advice not to publish that, $41.5 million dollars bauxite exported was not captured by the Auditor-General’s report in 2015 as Bank of Ghana sort permission to have their checks done and report back to the committee.
He further lamented that, for some of this reasons a section of the media were taken on a workshop at Koforidua to equip them adequately to report on the sittings of the Public Accounts Committee.
“The watch word was what you see report it as you see it, we love sensationalism they just want to hear that somebody has chop millions and those things, in accounting misapplication is different from embezzlement”.
He further reveal that, at the end of the sittings of the PAC the media will be engaged by the committee and taken through how much of the public funds has been recovered as a result of the public sitting. So that it will not be like business as usual, where public hearing is conducted but the public does not have the opportunity to know gains made by the committee, good journalist has to do a follow up.
“Like the last sitting of PAC in the sixth Parliament of the fourth Republic, most of the money that the District Assemblies Secondary schools and companies chop they are made to pay back, the high profile cases recovers made. Because the average Ghanaian will have this mindset that, after all this public hearing are funds recovered from those who default?”
By: Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com